AntiGaang
by awaken Deep Blue
Summary: What would have happened if Prince Zuko found the Avatar in the iceberg first? In a completely different story, Aang becomes best friends with Zuko and together they must fight Sokka and Katara and restore the honor of the Fire Nation.


Author's note:

While to some standards my first chapter may have been fine for some standards, it was really bad compared to my standards (it's crap). SO I'm rewrote my first chapter.

Zuko's story:

Ice.

This entire world is made out of ice.

My father has been here.

My father's father has been here, and the one before him as well.

The air is cold and dry. It doesn't bother me. I look through the telescope with my good eye, scanning the horizon. With the exception of a meaningless Water Tribe village, this is nothing but ice in the Southern Arctic Circle. But that doesn't matter, I...

"Zuko," said an all-too-familiar voice, "It's quite cold out, and you have been out here on the deck for hours. You should get back inside before you catch a cold."

"No," I said calmly, still scanning the horizon.

"Zuko," continued my uncle, "I know you heard this a hundred times already, but you're not going to find the Avatar. Your father failed, your father's father, and the one before him have failed as well. You take things easy, relax. Enjoy life a little."

Normally, I would angrily reject his words, replying that they didn't have to restore their honor. But he already knows that. This time I'm ignoring his little game.

All of the sudden the ship rocked, along with a sickening sound of iron being torn asunder. An iceberg shattered and it's lower half rose to strike the ship as well.

I yelled at the ship's command tower, "Captain, what are you trying to do? Are you trying to kill us?"

The captain replied, "My apologies my prince, these are treacherous waters and the iceberg looked much smaller from here."

He was right. The lower half of the shifted iceberg was enormous. It fact, it was spherical. On a closer look, there appeared to be someone trapped inside. I was rendered speechless.

My uncle was rendered less speechless. "Never I had to eat my own words so fast. The Avatar indeed! Zuko, you are the luckiest young man on the planet."

My crew met me on the deck. They were also held in wonder, but the captain asked, "Prince Zuko, what are your orders?"

If I was the person one minute ago, I would have rejoiced and ordered the iceberg to be tied to the ship and drag the Avatar frozen in his icy prison. But now I have my doubts.

It also appeared that my uncle Iroh was thinking the same thoughts I was. "Zuko, what are you going to do now?"

What am I going to do now? In all my dreams, imagined fighting the Avatar, master of all four elements, in a battle not seen in a 100 years. I would always lose, but after finding him, I would have to chase him throughout the world, finally bringing down the might of the Fire Nation onto the Avatar.

Reality is nothing like this. The Avatar is being handed to me on a silver platter, or more accurately, frozen in an iceberg. It can't be this simple. It can't be this easy. The universe has always tested me, made me strong. I have searched the world and prepared for this day awake and in my dreams for two long years. I have been without my honor for two long years. And now I supposed to believe the boy in the iceberg is the Avatar? I am never this lucky. That is my sister.

There was a flat piece of ice attached to the ice sphere that held the Avatar. I jumped from the ship to the ice sheet. My captain yelled, asking "What are your doing?" and the rest of my men started yelling the same way. They thought I was going to free the Avatar, and they are right.

Because I have to know. Did I waste the last two years of my life? Was it destiny for my own father to burn my face? Was my pain and effort all for naught? It was all for this? All of the boy in the iceberg?

And will things truly be the same? Even if I capture the Avatar, even with my honor restored, can I pretend that I will be happy? Will capturing the Avatar make things the away they used to be? Will capturing the Avatar truly restore my honor? Can I ever become the perfect prince that my father always wanted?

Why after all this time, I have so much doubt? I felt a little feverish, sick to my stomach. For one second I looked back to my ship. My men were yelling at me to not free the Avatar. I only looked at one person.

My uncle's advice was this, "Zuko, I always believed in you, to always do the right thing, to believe in your honor. Good and evil have always battled inside of you. Good and evil have always been in your blood. You are at the crossroads of destiny. Out of all the people of the world, only you truly had the choice between good and evil. Now ask yourself will you do the right thing? Will you listen to your honor? Are you ready to save the world and restore the honor of the Fire Nation?" As usual, I have no clue what my uncle just said, like all the advice he has ever given to me. But he just confirms it. I have restored my honor, but I have to know.

With the most powerful punch in my life, I opened the the ice sphere. I most likely broke my hand. But I didn't notice. I was enveloped in a pillar of light. When it subsided, the Avatar was there, sleeping in the iceberg. He was only a little boy. For a second, I felt sick again and I thought I saw two dragons, one blue with Azula's voice, and one red with uncle voice. Azula's voice encouraged me to strike the Avatar down, while the blue dragon pleaded me to stay me hand. I couldn't decide. So I did nothing.

Not too long afterward, the Avatar awoke. Again, I was conflicted, again between the urges to strike him down or... something else.

The Avatar was apparently shocked to see me and my ship. Perhaps frightened by my scar. "Waah! What's going on here?"

I could only speak the truth at this point. "I have been searching you for two years."

"Two years? Man, I'm sorry I made you do that. I guess that I'm in huge trouble now and everyone is angry at me."

"...Yes. I supposed that's true as well. Both the trouble and I guess I used to be angry at you."

"You must be Fire Nation. I'm sorry you got dragged into this. I guess you have to return me to the Southern Air Temple."

"No."

"What?"

"You are not going back to the Air Temple. You are coming with me."

"Why? Where are you taking me? Is there something wrong with the Southern Air Temple?"

It was difficult for me, but I had to break the ice and spit it out. "The Air Nomads are extinct."

"What?" the Avatar screamed, clearly shocked. "Impossible! I thought you told me I was gone for two years?"

"No. My father searched for you. My father's father searched for you. You have been gone for 100 years."

"No! 100 years..." said the depressed Avatar. "All my friends are dead, not to mention all of my people. How did my people die?"

"My great-grandfather happened. Firelord Sozin burned all of the Air Temples. He made sure there were no survivors."

"Murderer!" The Avatar tackled me and started strangling me. He was both angry and... crying?

After all that I have said, I couldn't blame him and couldn't find the strength to fight back. I guess I was right. The universe is out to get me, and now it has me. I spend the last two years searching for the Avatar, and because of my doubt and stupidity, because the universe has sapped my will, now I'm going to die by the Avatar's bare hands.

I could barely get my last words out. "I... deserve... this... Judge... me... Avatar..."

Just when I was on the edge of life and death, I could breath again. The Avatar was repulsed by what he was about to do.

"I looked into you eyes, and... I couldn't kill you. You are a good people, an innocent person. You didn't murder my people. You are just his great-grandson. If I was still around, I probably could have saved my people, so it's my fault more than yours."

The Avatar continued, "You were brave in letting me the truth. Thank you. It must have been difficult for you to tell me directly in my face."

I looked down. "It wasn't all that hard for me. There was nothing else I could do." I quickly glanced at the Avatar. "I had come here to capture you, as you are the greatest threat to the Fire Nation's empire. My father gave me this scar for speaking up about sacrificing soldiers to the war, and banished be to futilely search the world for you. I thought I lost my honor, but I lost much more than that. I thought that if I captured you, my father would restore my honor and things would go back to the way they used to be. But that's a lie. If my father truly wanted me, he would have let me return long ago. Thing would never go back to the way they used to be. My only hope, my only dream was to find you. But not even you can fulfill my dreams."

The Avatar was surprised and touched by my story. "I... I don't know what to say."

"Then you can either fight me or leave. I realize now that you actually do me no good captured, that you can't make my father love me again or make thing go back to the way they used to be, but searching for you and fighting you, that gives me hope for those dreams. Hope, I can live on hope."

The Avatar surprised me. "No, I refuse to do either."

"What?"

"Listen, it's my job as the Avatar to maintain balance to the world. Obviously, this balance has been disrupted in the time I have been gone. But this doesn't mean I have to fight and beat up, much less kill, everyone that disrupts the balance of the world. I know the Fire Nation is responsible for the destruction of the Air Nomads, but I have to detach myself from the world and I can't let revenge poison me. I don't kill the Firelord, so I should try talking to him first."

Now it's my turn to not know what to say next. "Heh, this day is full of surprises. It's a good thing the nearby Water Tribe didn't find you first, or else we would have never met up like this. Well, we're ready to leave once we patch up our ship. The iceberg had really nicked it."

"Well, I hope you have space for Appa."

"What?"

I then saw an enormous bison, apparently a flying one.

Back on the ship, everyone was amazed and congratulating me for somehow capturing the Avatar peacefully, even though I tried to correct them. Uncle Iroh met me in my room.

"Zuko," he said, "I am very proud of you. You choice the right path."

"No, I didn't choice any path. I still haven't decided on what I'm going to do. And I don't feel so good." I caught one glimpse of my imaginary dragons before I blacked out.


End file.
